Category Archives: Fiction

It is currently being copy edited, (so there will be the occasional typo in this version).

The characters use math and describe their math thinking as they work through problems. I am a former 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade teacher, so I used my experience and background from those years as I wrote this.

Charlotte Morgan is a third grader who likes numbers, and she is in a club called The Number Investigators.

My name is Charlotte, and I have a great big problem. You see in two weeks, or 14 days, or 336 hours or 20,160 minutes, or 1,209,600 seconds is our big Turing Elementary School Math Bee. A math bee is like a spelling bee only with math problems.

Why is this a problem you ask? This is a problem because I don’t like getting up in front of the class. And if I do good in front of the class, then I have to go in front of the whole big school. And most of the time I get the best math grade in my class. There are twenty-two other students in my class, which means there will forty-four eyes looking at me. I forgot, forty-six eyes, Mrs. King, my teacher, will be looking at me too!

And also, did I mention my dad is a math teacher? That’s a lot of pressure. He will be very disappointed in me if I don’t do well.

Parent’s Notes went home last week about the math bee, and my dad got really excited. He teaches algebra and calculations at Middlebury High School, at least, I think it is called calculations. Anyway, dad, or Mr. Morgan, as his students call him, has started quizzing me constantly throughout the day. He’ll say, “Okay, Tambourine, what is 4 times 3.” And I reply “12.” It is getting annoying.

He calls me Tambourine because when I was little, like two or three, I would walk around the house shaking and banging a tambourine. I don’t do that anymore, but the name stuck.

My mom calls me Charlotte, and Charlotte Morgan when I am in trouble.

I go to Turning Elementary School, and I am in the third grade As I already said Mrs. King is my teacher. She tells me I talk a lot.

But if it wasn’t for me she wouldn’t remember that she left her pencil behind her ear. That poor pencil would just stay there all day—poor pencil.

Today is Friday, and school is about to start. That means there are 14 days until the Turing Elementary School Math Bee. That’s 336 hours.

Finals: The Dolbin School Book 4

Chapter 1- Spring Time

Bam! The sound of the ball hitting leather echoed through out the field.

Jake Cooper took the ball out of his mitt and shook his glove hand. “Nice throw, Mark. Have you been working out?” he said. He went to throw the ball back. “I’ll try not to hurt you when I throw it.”

“Just throw it!”

Jake adjusted the bandage on his nose before he threw the baseball to Mark. His nose still hurt, from fighting Brad Cushing.

Jake threw the ball. It zipped through the air. The loud sound of the ball smacking Mark’s hands came from eighty feet away. “Did that hurt?” Jake asked.

“Nope.” Mark replied, gritting his teeth.

The warm weather on the first day of May, brought the student body of Dolbin School for the Extraordinary out. Jake Cooper and his friends Mark Daniels, Bruce Johnson, Red, Cal Jacobs, and Henry Cho tossed baseballs between them. There was no game planned. It was just a lazy Sunday afternoon.

“Throw to someone else, I going to get out the PGX,” said Mark. He put his glove down and walked over to his backpack. He pulled out a drone. It was white and shiny. He pulled out a tablet and tapped in instructions. The PGX hovered four feet above the ground.

“You’re not going to take our pictures with that? Right.” Bruce asked.

“No. Did you forget to put on your make-up today?” Mark replied, without looking away from his drone. “But we could record practices with it, or even games, and review defensive adjustments and other things.”

Bruce paused from throwing the ball. “That’s not a bad idea, Daniels.” He threw the ball back to Red. “We need to remember that once we get to the 6th grade and are able to play D-Ball.”

“I would think the coaches in middle school would already have that idea, and that they would already be doing that,” Mark pointed out.

“I thought you guys would be here,” said a female voice.

The boys turned and saw Maggie Crenshaw running to the field. She was carrying a backpack. She stopped and put down the bag.

“Brad isn’t here, if you’re looking for him,” said Jake.

Maggie ignored Jake’s comment and motioned to the drone floating above the field. “I have a PGX as well.” She pulled it out of her bag.

Mark looked at the drone and then at Maggie, “I thought you were more of an athlete.”

She frowned at Mark, “Simply because I am athletic, and play sports, doesn’t mean I don’t like tech as well.”

Maggie pulled out her tablet, swiped and tapped instructions. Her drone rose next to Mark’s. Maggie smiled, “Want to race?”

Mark smiled, “Of course”.

Maggie smiled. Her tilted to the side and took off toward the outfield at blazing speed. Mark’s drone was pushed backwards from the force of the air from her drone.

Mark turned his head. “Did you make some modifications on yours? I didn’t think that a PDX had accelerant thrusters?”

“They don’t. I added them myself,” Maggie grinned from ear to ear.

Mark lowered his drone to the ground, and pointed at Maggie’s drone “Can I try?”

“Sure.” Maggie stopped her drone, it floated waiting for the next instructions. It was a 100 feet away and floating 20 feet in the air. Mark took the tablet. He saw himself standing next to Maggie on the tablet, from the drone’s cameras. Mark swiped on the tablet. He could see the campus as he viewed the different cameras.

“The accelerant app is right there,” said Maggie reaching over Mark’s shoulder and pointing to a red icon. Mark tapped instructions for the drone to head back to him. He pressed the accelerant icon. It zipped right back, and stopped, floating twenty feet above his and Maggie’s head.

Red pointed to the drone and then at Mark, “Hey, do you think you could race that thing?”

“I could race it. But I am pretty certain that I would lose.”

“Maggie, did you bring your baseball glove? You can ball with us as well if you are done showing the drone off,” said Bruce. “You seem pretty athletic.”

She shook her head, “I’m not Extra Strong or a Runner, I’m a Healer.”

Bruce shrugged his shoulders. “You can still play with us.”

Mark handed the tablet back to Maggie. She brought the drone down to the ground and turned it off. She set it next to her bag.

She pulled a baseball glove out of her bag. She smiled and pounded her glove. Mark picked up his glove and a ball and threw it to Maggie.

Jake continued to throw to Cal as he turned to ask Maggie a questions, “Maggie, if you like playing ball, why didn’t you come with us before?”

“No one asked me.”

“Not even Brad?” Jake replied.

Maggie stopped looked at Jake, she threw the ball at Mark.

Jake smiled, “Sorry.” He turned to throw at Cal. He adjusted the bandage on his nose and threw the ball at Cal.

“My grandfather thinks he is seeing a ghost at the lighthouse, and I think he wants to show it to me,” said Irving to Alec as they both were getting their fishing rods ready. The grey of dusk had covered the sky. The breeze was still warm.

“That’s cool,” responded Alec.

“I guess. But if he sees something at the lighthouse, I guess something is actually happening,” Irving said.

Irving’s grandfather walked over to the boys and the boys stopped talking. “Okay are you two ready? Do you have everything you need?”

“Yeah, it looks like it grandpa,” Irving leaned back and cast his line out in the surf. He held onto his line.

“Nice cast,” he patted Irving on the back and walked back to his line, where Irving’s dad and Carrie had set-up their lines.

Alec leaned back and cast his line out into the water. He placed the rod into paint bucket to keep it anchored. He sat down on the ground. “Why don’t you put yours in the bucket?”

“I like to hold my line in case something bites early.” Alec shook his head,

“Okay.” Suddenly Alec’s rod took leaned forward and the line took off like a sprinter.

“Whoa! I got something!” screamed Alec.

He jumped up to grab the rod, but he tripped over the bucket. He fell face first onto the ground. But he held onto the rod. The bucket fell forward and the rod came out of the bucket. The Alec held onto the rod with both hands. Irving laughed at the top of his lungs. Then the fish on the end of the rod pulled the rod and Alec across the sand towards the ocean. For some reason Alec held onto the rod.

Irving’s eye lit up. He quickly put his rod into the bucker and chased after Alec. Irving landed on his friend. Irving’s grandfather seeing the scene ran over and grabbed the rod from Alec. He quickly pulled back on the line, but it snapped.

The catch got away.

Irving and Alec laid on the edge of the water. “Well, that was embarrassing,” Alec said. Irving rolled off Alec, sand covered his hair. He stood and brushed the wet sand off of his clothes. Mr. Williams helped Alec get up.

Mr. Williams showed Alec and Irving the line. “I think it is a good thing you didn’t reel that in!”

He smiled. “I’m also glad that it didn’t eat us earlier today when we were on our boards,” Alec replied.

Irving’s dad came running over, “Everyone all right?”

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Irving replied.

Irving’s dad motioned to the two boys and Mr. Williams, “There is always trouble when the three of you get together.”

I am experimenting.

I am working on a new book, while also writing this story. I am writing this story without an outline and putting up the story as I finish each part. I am enjoying getting to know these characters and setting.

“I see that you have found Alec,” said Irving’s grandfather. Who was reading a tattered spy novel paperback, his head covered by his sun hat, round sunglasses covered his face.

Irving and Alec walked back to Iriving’s family’s settlement. They were exhausted from riding waves. Their cheeks were pink from the sun, and knees skinned from wiping out on their boogie boards.

Irving’s grandfather was manning the settlement of towels. Carrie was a sleep on her towel. Her hair wet after taking a quick dip in the water.

The rest of the family was in the water playing with Lucas.

Alec waved, “Hi, Mr. Williams.”

“Hi, Alec. Where is your family?” Irving’s grandfather replied.

“Down there, the blue tent.” He pointed. “My mother sunburns easily, so we bring the tent.” He pointed to a blue tent hundred feet away.

“Your grandfather told me you would be here for the week.”

“Yes, sir that is correct.” Grant Williams sat up in his chair, pushed his hat back and lowered his sunglasses down his nose.

He waved Alec in closer with his tattered paperback, “Come, here.” Alec took a step closer. “I have something to show you and Irving this week at the lighthouse,” a gleam was noticeable in his eye. The lines in his cheek grew deep from his smiling.

Alec turned looked at Irving and then back at Mr. Williams, “Yes, sir. What is it?”

Mr. Williams guffawed, but then leaned in closer and lowered his voice to a whisper, “I can’t tell you that right now. There are too many prying ears around.” He made a circular motion with his paperback.

Alec put gave a thumbs-up, “Understood.” Alec stood back up, and stepped next to Irving, “I’m starving I’m going to go get some Gatorade and chips.”

“Come and see us in an hour or so when the sun gets lower. We’ll be getting ready to fish.” Alec waved, “Yes, sir.” He jogged off to his parent’s tent.

Irving put his board down and sat down next to his grandfather. He reached into the cooler next his grandfather, and pulled out a bottle of water, and a turkey sandwich. He started eating.

“So what exactly is it you’ve seen at the lighthouse?” Irving asked.

His grandfather turned and looked at him. He looked at Carrie napping on the towel. He looked around to see if anyone else was listening, and he lowered his voice, “The original lighthouse keeper from 140 years ago is back.”

I am experimenting and putting up this story as I write it.

The sun was bright. The air was warm. The sand was hot. The sound of the waves was rhythmic.

Irving and his family wondered onto the beach, carrying towels, chairs, umbrellas and fishing gear. After several minutes of searching, they settled on an area near the walkway to the main street.

As soon as Lucas took his shirt off he ran toward the water.

Irving’s grandfather chuckled, “I see now why you have to put the sunscreen on before we go to the beach!”

“Yeah, it’s very difficult to wrangle him when he sees the water,” replied Mrs. Williams.

Irving took off his hat, shirt, and flip-flops and grabbed his boogie board, ready to sprint to the waves.

“You on the other hand mister are able to wait.” His mother handed him a blue bottle of sport suntan lotion.

“Put it on. Remember how painful it was last year when you got sunburned. It was no fun for you, and it was no fun for us.”

Irving hung his head, took the bottle, and lathered himself in white lotion.

Carrie covered herself in her own special sunscreen. She placed her sunglasses on her face and she laid down on her towel.

“Hoping to see Aaaadam!” Irving teased.

She looked up at him, “Are you hoping to see tomorrow?”

“You two! Just one day!” said their father. “Irving you’re covered in sunscreen, head onto the water. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Irving bolted to the water. He gasped at the coolness of the water, but he kept going. He jumped and put the board out in front and landed on the board. His body rose high into air as the first wave lifted him and brought him back down. We wiped his hair out of his eyes. He turned his board and began swimming back to shore. He looked over his shoulder for the next wave.

It came quickly.

It lifted his feet and legs up, and pushed his body forward. His arms worked fast to keep his board on top of the wave. He felt his legs going higher into the air. His right shoulder went under first. His body tumbled like in was in a washing machine. The water pushed him forward. He came up on the shore on his stomach.

He wiped his eyes. When his vision cleared, two legs stood in front of him.

“You wiped out on the first wave of the summer?” said a voice from above Irving.

Irving looked up in a daze. “Hey Alec!”

Irving stood up. He wiped the sand off of his face, and shook Alec’s hand. “My grandfather told me you and your brother were in town this week.”

“We got here this morning.” Alec replied.

“Where’s your brother?”

“I don’t know. Probably looking for girls.”

Alec looked over his shoulder for his brother Adam.

“My sister will be in an even worse mood if she sees him talking to other girls,” Irving replied.

Alec laughed.

He lifted his boogie board and looked at Irving, “Now, let me show you how this is done.” The boys raced back into the ocean to catch the next wave.

Upstairs, while the wrestling match over sunscreen was happening, Irving put on his Atlanta Braves ball cap, his Darth Vader t-shirt, his Virginia Tech sandals and his Hawaii print swim trunks. His sunglasses finished the ensemble.

He walked down the stairs and met the rest of the family by the front door, where they were gathering their things for their first trip to the beach.

“You look dorky,” stated his sister Carrie.

“Well, luckily I’m not trying to impress you. I know I’m not Adam!” Irving held the A in the name, held his arms up to his chest, batted his eyes, and pretended to swoon.

Carrie rolled her eyes. “Maybe he’s here this week and you’ll see him at the beach.” Irving continued to mock his sister.

“Shut up!” And she punched Irving in the shoulder. Hard.

“Ow!!!” Their father intervened, “Can you two please stop fighting for one day? One day!?” He held up his index finger, emphasizing the number 1.

Lucille Williams smiled, put on her sunhat and laughed, “George, I remember you fighting with your brother like that when you were their age.”

“You don’t live with it every day, mom.” Irving’s father replied.

“Someday you’ll miss it, son,” she replied in a peaceful manner.

“Who’s ready for some surf!” yelled Irving’s grandfather. He came around the corner from his bedroom. He walked around a large telescope that was placed on a tripod and face out a window towards the sea. He was dressed in a large floral print shirt, blue swim trucks, and large wicker sun hat on top of his head.

“I am!” yelled Lucas, as he put his hand into the air.

“I’m also bringing my rod and reel. Do I have any other fishermen here with me today?” His grin was large. Irving raised his hand, “I’ll fish with you.”

“So will I,” replied Carrie.

“I will too!” shouted Lucas.

The family headed out the door and into Irving’s dad’ large SUV. Irving’s grandfather sat in the back row with Irving and Carrie. “Did I mention, Irving and Carrie, that Adam and Alec are here this week? I know they are looking forward to seeing you guys again.”

“Ohh…Aaaaadam is here!” Irving batted his eyes. Carrie punched him in the shoulder. “Ow!”

Irving Williams and the Lighthouse Ghost

Irving’s grandparents lived in a large brick house near the beaches of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. His grandfather was a retired coast guard Captain. He settled in Currituck, North Carolina. He spent his time now leading tours at the Currituck Lighthouse.

The house was filled from top to bottom with maritime objects, artifacts, and paintings. A large deep water diving suit greeted visitors as they walked in the front door. A four-foot model of the lighthouse stood on an end table, next to a book shelf filled with novels and reference materials about the ocean and maritime history.

A large painting of a boat navigating rough seas hung over an antique sofa. The sofa that no one was allowed to eat on.

“Take your stuff upstairs Irving,” instructed his dad.

Irving walked up a large wooden staircase, he turned to the right, and his bag brushed against table making it wobble. A wooden pirate, complete with a green parrot on the shoulder, wobbled and began to fall. Irving dropped his bag and caught the pirate with both hands. He blew out of his breath and gently put the pirate back.

“Wow. You would be dead little brother if you didn’t catch that!” Carrie walked past him.

“Thanks for your help,” Irving replied.

He picked his bag up and continued down the hall, past a painting about a shark attack, and an aerial photograph of the Outer Banks. He walked into his bedroom.

His grandparents’ house was large enough that he didn’t have to share his room with anyone. Unlike at home, he shared his room with Lucas, which made visiting his grandparents a welcome change from the routine.

“I want to go to the beach!” Lucas ran past Irving’s doorway. His mother was in pursuit.

“We’re not going to the beach until we get unpacked and eat lunch, Lucas. And stop running in the house, you’re bound to break something!”

Irving put his bag on the bed and unzipped it. He pulled out his clothes and placed them in a chest of drawers that had mermaids and sharks on the handle of the drawers. He closed the drawers.

He picked a photograph off the top of the chest of drawers. He was about three in the picture, his grandfather was holding a large fish at the end of a fishing line, and next him was a large yellow lab, named Luke. Luke was already old in the photograph. He passed away when Irving was six.

“Irving get down here and help with lunch!” yelled his father. Irving put the photograph back its place and he bounded down the stairs.

Lucas was sitting at the large mahogany table. His legs swung back and forth vigorously. Irving walked past the table and into the kitchen where his father was.

“Put ice in all the glasses,” his father instructed.

His grandmother had already lined up seven empty glasses. Lucas began filling them. He placed them one by one back onto the kitchen island.

His grandfather walked into the kitchen. He placed something on the island.

Irving put the final cup filled with ice down on the island. He noticed what his grandfather had placed.

It was a book.

Ghosts of the Outer Banks, was the title.

Irving looked up at his grandfather. His grandfather put a finger to his mouth. “Don’t tell your mother,” he whispered. “I’ve seen one. And I’m going to show it to you.”

But I placed a challege to myself to write a chapter book without an outline and into the dark

I got the idea from my last post about the Orcacoke Lighthouse, when @thecryptofiend asked if the lighthouse had a ghost. Suddenly I had an idea and the start of a story.

Anyway, here is:

Part one of Irving Williams and the Lighthouse Ghost

“Oh, Jeez, who pooted gas?” Irving Williams waved his hand in front of his nose.

A loud giggle came from the seat in front of him.

“Haha! I did!” Squealed Lucas, Irving’s little brother.

“Mom, make them stop!” whined Carrie, Irving’s older sister. Who was sitting with Irving in the back seat of their three row SUV.

“Boys, stop being gross,” Julie Williams, Irving’s mother, said from the passenger seat.

“Boys, I need you to cut down on that sort of talk when we reach grandma and grandpa’s house,” George Williams, Irving’s dad, instructed from the driver’s seat.

Irving Williams was eight-years-old, had sandy brown hair with freckles on his face and was soon to be in the third grade.

Carrie, was ten-years-old, also had brown hair, hers was pulled back into a ponytail. And she was going to be a fifth grader.

Lucas was four. And he laughed for at least three minutes every time he passed gas.

Mr. Williams turned on the blinker and he turned the family’s grey SUV into a driveway.

The two story brick house, had a dark green roof. Large potted plants stood on both sides of the front door. An elderly man and woman appeared from the front door, Irving’s grandparents, Grant and Lucille Williams “Well, who are these lovely people who landed here in my driveway?” said Grant Williams, the man smiled and walked quickly to the car.

“Grandpa!” screamed Lucas.

“Here, let me get you out of this car seat,” said Grant as he fumbled with the latches and eventually got Lucas out of the seat.

“Hey mom,” George hugged his mom.

“How was your trip?” Lucille Williams, Irving’s grandmother, asked.

“It was fine. The traffic was better than usual.”

“Can we go to the beach today?” shouted Lucas.

His grandparents laughed.

“We need to eat and get unpacked before head to the beach,” Mrs. Williams rolled her eyes as she shuffled Lucas off into the house.

“There is my little, oh, excuse me, grown-up adventurer,” Irving’s grandfather shook his hand. His grip hurt Irving’s hand. He was still strong in his later years. He pulled Irving in close and whispered in his ear, “I have something to show you at the lighthouse. But you need to keep it a secret. Understand?” Irving looked at his grandfather’s face, the lines were deep, but there was excitement in his eyes. Irving held his grandfather’s gaze for what seemed to be hours.

“Irving, let you grandfather go, and help with the luggage,” instructed his dad. Irving followed instructions, got the luggage and followed his family into his grandparents’ large house.